William j



W; J. FRISBIE.

SPARK nooucma MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED JULY 27,192!- J mien/15r-50055: ZOZJLZmm .ffiwkw,

Patented 3 21,, 1922. v

' pyrophoric block in proper position for prd WILLIAM J. FRISBIE, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'IO JUSTRITE MANUFAC- TUBING COMPANY, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS,

SHARK-PRODUCING MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM J. FInsBIE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certainnew and useful Improvements in Spark ProducingMechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to spark produclng mechanism of the type in which aserrated disk or wheel has frictional engagement with a piece ofpyrophoric material. The mechanism can be used alone for generallighting purposes but is particularly useful as an attachment inconnection with the gas tips on miners acetylene lamps. I

In the construction of these devices as heretofore used a barrel hasparallel walls extending therefrom between which a serrated frictionwheel is pivoted for rotational movement, but has no bodily movement.Through the barrel extends the bore for the block or pellet ofpyrophoric material, usually cylindrical. The pyrophoric material is atall times pressed against the wheel by a spring, compressed by means ofa cap having threaded engagement with the barrel. In this priorconstruction, the diameter of the bore and pyrophoric pellet and thethickness of the friction wheel are about equal. However, in thearrangement disclosed in the co-pending application of Charles J.

Schmidt, Serial No. 478,822 of June 20, 1921,

where the friction wheel has bodily movements away from the pyrophoricmaterial as well as rotational movement, provision should be made tohold the pyrophoric block in proper position and to prevent escapethereof from the barrel when the fric tion wheel is moved away. One ofthe important objects of my invention is therefore to provide improvedmeans for holding the duclng sparks and for preventing escape thereoffrom the barrel. This I accomplish by making the bore of the barrel of adiameter which is greater than the thickness of the friction wheel, andextending the bore between the walls which pivot the friction wheel.With this arrangement only the inner zone of the pyrophoric pellet isworn away by the friction wheel, the sides of the pellet remaining andengagingin the bore sides or grooves in the wall, such engagementholding the pyrophoric pellet in Specification of Letters Patent.Patented Feb. 21 1922 Application filed July 27,

1921. SerialNo. 487,956

proper alignment at all times and preventing escape thereof. Suchaligning and retaining of the pellet will also enable practi cally allof the pellet to be used up before it must be discarded and a new pelletinserted.

The pyrophoric pellet must be adjusted from time to time to compensatefor the wear, this being usually accomplished by turning a threadedmember which forces an abutment member against the pellet to shift it inthe bore. A very important object of my lnvention is toprovide improvedmeans for preventing displacement of the adjustmg members due to jarringand jolting of the lamp on which the sparking device is applied. In theform of sparking device or attachment in which my invention isparticularly adaptable, the friction wheel supporting trunnions engagein diagonally extending slots in the supporting walls, and anotherimportant feature of my invention 1s to provide a simple and easy wayfor forming these slots.

The above and other features of my invention are disclosed in thestructure shown on the accompanying drawing, in which drawmg- Fig. l isa front elevational view of a miners cap lamp,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view on plane 22 Fig. 1, V v V Fig. 3 isan enlarged side elevational view of a spark producing attachment withparts of the supporting reflector shown in section, Fig. 4: is asectional view on plane l.4= Fig. 8,

Fig. 5 is an end view of the spark produc ing attachment,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the pyrophoric pellet partly wornaway, and

Figs. 7, 8, and 9 show modified arrangements. On the drawing I'haveshown my improved spa-rk producing device applied to the reflector of aminers acetylene cap lamp. The lamp shown comprises the structure B inwhich the gas in generated, the reflector r, and the tip t from whichissues the gas which is generated in the lamp. The spark producingattachment shown comprises the barrel 10 having the bore 11. From theupper end of the barrel extend the parallel walls 12 and 13 betweenwhich is the friction wheel 14. The barrel 10 is extended through thehole 15 in the reflector and is externally threaded to receive the nut16, the reflector wall being clamped between the nut and the base of thewalls 12 and 18. The attachment is positioned to bring the frictionwheel in a radial plane so that sparks will be directed toward the gasoutlet tip 6. Slidable in the bore 11 is the cylindrical block or pellet17 of pyrophoric material which is held within range of the frictionwheel by suitable mechanism. As shown in Figures 1 to a this ,mechanismcomprises a sleeve or cap member 18 having threaded. engagement with thebarrel 10 and having the contracted outer extension 19 which isinternally threaded to receive the abutment screw 20 which at its outerend is secured to a shell or cap 21, which is adapted to pass over theextension 19. The cap forms a handle for turning the abutment screw 20,and as this screw is turned the pyrophoric pellet is ad vanced tocompensate for the wear thereon by the friction wheel.

in accordance with my invention, the diameter of the bore 11 and thepyrophoric pellet is greater than the thickness of the friction wheel,and the bore is extended between the walls 12 and 13 to or beyond thepivot point of the friction wheel. In the arrangement shown the frictionwheel is adapted for bodily movement as well as rotational movement. Thetrunnionpin 22 for the wheel extends into the diagonally disposed slots23 and 24 in the walls 12 and 13, the slots extending in such directionthat when the friction wheel is turned in clockwise direction (Figure 2)the trunnion pin will have a tendency to roll outwardly along the slotsto bodily shift the wheel away from the pyrophoricpellet. If thethickness of the wheeler the distancebetween the walls 12 and 13 wereequal to the diameter of the bore 11, then the pyrophoric pellet wouldtend to tilt, especially after it had been worn down and it could thenreadily escape from between the walls. However, by having the thicknessof the wheel less than the diameter of the bore all this is prevented.in the arrangement of Figures 1 to 1 the bore is continued throughoutthe extent of the walls 12 and 13 so as to provide the grooves orchannels 25 and 26 in the wall sides adjacent the wheel. As the wheel isthen rotated, it will wear away only the inner Zone of the pellet andwill leave the walls 27 and 28 thereon which engage between the wheeland the walls in the grooves 25 and 26. Such engagement keeps the pelletat all times in alignment and prevents escape thereof, and the alignmentwill be maintained until the pellet has been cut entirely through by thewheel. The wheel can therefore be moved bodil away from the )elletwithout dan er 7 them by milling.

only suliiciently thinner than the bore to insure suilicient strength inthe walls 27 and 28 of the pellet to hold it against displacement. Theadvantages of the pivot slots for the trunnion pin are clearly set forthin the co-pending application referred to. It prevents sticking of thewheel against the pyrophoric material, for when the wheel is turned andthe pyrophoric material tends to stop it the trunnion pin will rollalong the objects of my invention is to provide means.

for preventing this. In the arrangement of Figures 1 to 1 I interpose acompression spring 29 between the sleeve 18 and the cap 21, the springextending into the cap and encircling the reduced extension 19 on. thesleeve. This spring will exert tension on the adjusting stem 20 to keepits thread in sufficient frictional engagement with the extension 19 toprevent displacement or loosening of the stem. To prevent losing thespring when the stem is entirely withdrawn it may be secured at itsouter end to the cap by being inserted through a hole therein and bentover as clearly shown at 30 in Figure 2.

lVhen a pellet has been worn out the remaining walls 27 and 28 must beremoved and a fresh pellet inserted. This is accom plished by unscrewingthe sleeve 18. A fresh pellet is then inserted in the barrel 1O andthesleeve is reapplied, the stem 20'behowever, screwed outwardlyasufficient distance to leave enough space for the new pellet. The cap 21is then turned toshift the screw against brought into proper positionfor sparking co-operation with the wheel. The threaded bore of theextension 19 is of sufficiently less diameter than the bore to preventdropping out of the pellet when the stem is entirely removed from theextension 19, and when the stem is removed the spring cannot be lost asit is secured to cap 21 as above explained.

the pellet until it is.

The spring will permit the stem to be readily turned to feed the pelletbut it will lock the stem after adjustment so that the setting of thepellet will be maintained during any jolting or jarring of the lamp.

Another feature of my invention resides in the formation of the diagonalslots for receiving the friction wheel trunnion pin.

Instead of drilling these slots, which would be a laborious and costlyoperation, 1 form By means of a milling cutter slots are cut into thewalls 12 and 13 diagonally fronione edge thereof and the slots will thenbe openat one end as indicated at X at Figure 3. The ends of thesections of the walls above the slots are then deflected downwardlyagainst the lower walls of the slots as indicated at Y Figure 3,

' this closing the slots and preventing escape has the reducedcylindrical section 32' through which threads the adjusting screw orstem 33 which at its outer end has the cap 34 secured thereto. This caphas such internal diameter that it will frictionally engage with theextension 32, this frictional engagement, although readily permittingturning of thescrew to set the pyrophoric pellet, preventingdisplacement or loss of the screw during use of the device with whichthe sparking attachment is used.

In Figure 8 the threaded cap 35 engages the outer end of the barrel andseats against the nut 16 which secures the attachment to the reflectoror other supports. The adjusting screw 36 has frictional threadedengagement in the head of the cap and ithas the slot 37 for receiving ascrew driver or other convenient tool whereby the screw may be turned toset the phyrophoric pellet.

In the arrangement of Figure 9 the ad-' justing screw 38 engages withthe threaded interior of the barrel 39, and after setting of thepyrophoric pellet by-the screw the screw is locked against displacementby the jam nut 40 which engages against the end 9f the barrel. l

With my improved arrangement the greatest efficiency can be obtained outof the pyrophoric material. On account of the diagonal slots and thebodily movement of the friction wheel there will be no waste of thepyrophoric material and only enough will be scraped therefrom duringturning of the wheel to'cause sufficient sparking for ignition purposes.On account of the arrangement for holdingthe pyrophoric pellet inaccurate alignment the pellet can be cut entirelythrough by the wheeland. thus practically all of. the material is available for sparkinguse. The locking means for the pellet adjusting mechanism assists inkeeping the pellet in proper position to co-operate with the wheel. I donot desire to be limitedto the exact construction. and arrangement shownand described as changes may be made which will still come within thescope of the invention. .7

I claim as follows: I I ,1. In spark producingmachanismof the classdescribed, the combination of a frame having a longitudinally extendingbore, said frame being longitudinally slotted at one end, said slotbeing of less width than:- the diameter of said bore, affriction wheelpivot ed in saids'lot, a'block o-f pyrophoriematefl;

rial in said bore, and means for holding said 7 block wlthin range ofsald frictlon wheel.

2. In pyrophoric spark producing mechanism, the combination of' a' framehaving a bore extending longitudinally therethrough,

one. end of said frame having a diametrally. I extending ,slot of lesswidth than the diameter of said bore, a friction wheelsupports.

ed in said slot to rotate axially andshift in its plane, a block ofpyrophoric material, within said bore, and means for holding said blockwithin range of frictional engagement by said wheel, said block being ofsubstantially the same diameter as said bore whereby it will engage andbe held in thebore sections alongside of. said wheel while its centralzone is. being worn away by 'the wheel, said block being thus preventedfrom tilting. T. a

3. In sparking mechanism of the class described, the. combination of aframe having a cylindrical bore extending longitudinally therethrough,the end of said frame being slotted diametrally, said slot beingv ofless width than the diameter of said bore and.eX-,

tending through said bore whereby'to leave channels at the side of saidslot, a friction whel pivoted in saidslot, a block of pyrovphloricmaterial in said bore, andmeans for. holding said blockwithinfrictional engagement range of said wheel, said channels receivingand holding saidublock in alignment by said friction, wheel. r

41-. In pyrophoric sparkproducingmechanism of the class described, thecombination of a frame having opposed walls, said frame having a boreextendmg therethrough from the base of said walls, a friction wheel.

pivoted between said. walls to rotate axially; V

and to ;move bodily toward and away from the base of said walls, saidwheel being' of less thickness than the width of-said bore, a

block of; pyrophoric material-,slidablek in said bore, means forsupporting said block within range of; the wheel tobefrictionallyengaged "thereby when' rotated, and abutmentson said walls for aligningand retain mg said block improper co-operat ve p0s1- tion with referenceto said, wheel;

5. In a spark producingdevice'of the class described, the combination ofa frame, opposed walls on onerendjof said frame, said I frame-havingabore extending therethrough from the base of saidwalls, a friction wheelpivoted between saidwalls to .-r.0tate axi'ally: and shift bodily,,ablockof pyrophoric mate-;

while its central zone is being worn away,"

rial fitting said bore and slidable therein, means for holding saidblock within cooperative range of said wheel, said wheel being of a lessthickness than the width of said bore whereby it will wear away only aportion of said block, and a channel in one of said walls for receivingthe uncut part of said block to thereby hold said block in alignmentduring co-operation thereof with said wheel. 7

(J. In a spark producing device of the class described, the combinationof a frame having, opposed parallel 'walls extending from one end, abore extending through said frame from the base of said walls, afriction wheel between said walls pivoted to rotate axially, a block ofpyrophoric material fitting said bore and slidable therein, means forpositioning said block in the end of said bore within range of saidwheel, said wheel being of less thickness than the width of said borewhereby to engage with and wear away only the central Zone of saidblock, and'channels in said walls for ,receiving the uncut sides of saidblock to thereby guide said block and prevent displacement thereofduring co-operation therevith by said wheel.

7. In pyrophoric spark producing mechanism, the combination of a'frame,opposed parallel walls extending from one end of said frame, alongitudinal bore in said frame open to thespace between said walls, afriction wheel between said walls pivoted to rotate axially and shift,bodily, a block of pyrophoric material fitting said bore and slidabletherein, means for positioning said block in said bore within range ofsaid wheel, said wheel being of .less thickness than said blockwhereby-it will wear away only the intermediate zone of said block, andchannels in said walls for receiving the uncut sides of'the block'toguide said block and hold it against tilting. n I

S. Ina sparking device of the class described, the combination of aframe, parallel walls'extending from one end of said frame, said framehaving a bore extending posed walls extending from one end of said framea'bore 'tlllOlW'll'SillCl frame communieating with the spacebetween saidwalls, a-

friction wheelrbetween said walls pivoted to rotate axially, a block ofpyrophoric material slidable in said bore, adjustable means for holdingsaid block in the bore to project into the space between said'walls andwithin range of said friction wheel, and means acting independently ofsaid bore for holding said block in parallelism with said here undertransverse pressure thereon by said wheel when rotated.

10. In the sparking device of the class de scribed, the combination of aframe,'walls extending from one end of said frame, a bore through saidframe communicating with the space between said walls, a friction wheelbetween said walls having pivot e2;- tensions, slots in said wallsextending-at an angle with the axis of said bore for receiving saidpivot projections to permit rotation and bodi y movement of said wheel,a block of pyrophoric material in said bore, means for positioning saidblock at the end of said bore to project into the space between saidwalls, said wheel being of less thickness than the width of said boreand said block whereby said wheel will wear said block only at itsintermediate zone when rotated thereagainst, and channels in said walls.for re ceiving the projecting uncut sides of said block to guide saidblock'and hold it against tilting when frictionally engaged by saidwheel.

11. In a sparking device of the class de' scribed, the combination of aframe, walls on one end of said frame spaced apart, a bore through saidframe communicating with the space between said walls, a friction wheelpivoted to rotate between said "walls,

a block of pyrophoric material in 'said bore, a sleeve detachablysecured on the end of the friction wheel, and means for preventing.

turning of said rod after adjustment thereof.

12. In a sparking device of the class described, the combination of aframe having a bore therethrough, a friction wheel positioned near theoutlet ofsaid bore, a block of pyrophorlc material slidable in saidbore,

a cap detachably secured on saidframe and having a threaded passageway,an adjusting rod extending'through and having threaded e1 gement'insaid'passageway, said rod serving to adjust said block with reference tothe friction wheel, a manipulatingmember on the outer endof said rod foradjustably turning-said rod, and means between said member and sleevefor preventing acci -dental turning of said rod aft-ei 'ad ustmentthereof.

In a sparking device of the class described, the combination of aframe-having a bore'tlierethrough, a frictlonwlieel positioned near themouth of saidbore, a block of pyrophoric material in said bore, a sleeveI detachably secured on said frame and having a threaded passagewaytherethrough, an adjusting rod threading through said passageway forpositioning said block with reference to said wheel, a manipulatingmember on the end of said rod for controlling the adjusting turningthereof, and friction means interposed between said member and sleevefor locking said rod against accidental turning after adjustmentthereof.

14:. In a spark producing device of the class described, the combinationof a frame having a bore therethrough, a friction wheel positioned nearthe outlet of said bore, a block of pyrophoric material within said borefor co-operating with said wheel, a sleeve detachably secured on saidframe and having a threaded passageway, an adjusting stem threadingthrough said passageway for positioning said block with reference to thewheel, a manipulating member on the outside of said rod for controllingthe adjusting rotation thereof, and a spring between said member andsaid sleeve for locking said rod against accidental rotation afteradjustment thereof.

15. In a spark producing device of the class described, the combinationof a frame having a bore, walls on said frame adjacent the mouth of saidbore, a friction wheel be-- tween said walls having pivot extensions,slots out in from the edges of said walls for receiving said pivotprojections, the ends of said walls being deflected to close said slotsto prevent escape'of said pivot extensions, pyrophoric material in saidbore, and means for holding said material within range of said wheel.

16. In a sparking device of the class described, the combination of aframe, opposed walls extending from said frame, said frame having a borecommunicating with the space between said walls, slots cut into saidwalls near the outer end thereof and from one side thereof, a frictionwheel between said walls having pivot projections for engaging in saidslots, the outer corners of said walls being turned inwardly to closesaid slots to prevent escape of said pivot projections after insertionin said slots, a block of pyrophoric material in said bore, and meansfor positioning said block in said bore to cooperate with said wheel.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 22nd day of JulyA. D., 1921.

WILLIAM J. FRISBIE.

